Topics

First elected to the Florida Legislature in 2000, Republican Andy Gardiner of Orlando will spend his final two years in the state Capitol as the Senate's president. Gardiner and the House's top officer, Republican Steve Crisafulli of Merritt Island, will have a surplus of more than $1 billion to work with as they build a budget. There will be many demands on those dollars. In a recent interview with the Sentinel Editorial Board, Gardiner discussed some of those demands, and other issues looming in the 60-day legislative session that begins today. Excerpts follow. A full transcript is online at OrlandoSentinel.com/opinion. Q: The University of Central Florida wants $57.8 million...

Related "Elections" Articles

First elected to the Florida Legislature in 2000, Republican Andy Gardiner of Orlando will spend his final two years in the state Capitol as the Senate's president. Gardiner and the House's top officer, Republican Steve Crisafulli of Merritt Island,...

PALM BEACH — Marco Rubio isn't quite ready to say he's running for president, yet admits it sure does look like he will seek the White House in 2016.
“I think that's reflected in both our travel and some of the staffing decisions that we've made,” the...

I've come up with a fabulous plan to deal with the estimated 11 million people who are in this country illegally.
Call Uber. Maybe the U.S. government can get a high-volume group discount, and deport everybody for a minimum rate of $2.40 per person.
...

"I don't know."
Thus proclaimed Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential hopeful, when asked by The Washington Post's Dan Balz and Robert Costa whether President Obama is a Christian.
This is not a matter of conjecture....

Just in case anyone thought John "For the People" Morgan might ease off the gas pedal in his blistering, national critique of DNC chairman (and wanna-be U.S. Senator) Debbie Wasserman Schultz, think again.
A few minuites ago, he released...

Seriously, about testing ...
There was good news about standardized testing in Thursday's Sentinel, "Governor agrees to cut testing," but it is only an easy first step. Eliminating duplicate tests is a common-sense move. Now, the governor,...

It has taken 170 years, but Florida finally has viable candidates for the White House — not one, but two. If that doesn't sound exactly overwhelming, consider that this is two more viable candidates than in the 42 presidential elections since Florida...

The Florida Legislature likely will take up a funding plan for the Orlando City Lions’ soccer stadium and three other sport venues, but it might wind up that only three of the four get funding, state Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs said Monday.
...

Targeting STEM studies
As women pursuing careers in the sciences, we were insulted on Tuesday by the Sentinel article "Can high-tech dresses attract girls to STEM?"
Although Melissa Saelzer's idea was no doubt conceived in good nature, the...

Jeb Bush's highly anticipated speech on foreign policy reminded me of the joke in which two senior citizens are complaining about a restaurant. "Terrible food at that place," says one. "Yes," says the other, "and such small...

Republicans lawmakers in Florida who once opposed medical pot are now embracing it, motivated by the strong show of support from voters and worried that another constitutional amendment during next year's presidential race could drive opponents to the...

Regardless of who gets elected mayor of Winter Park, or who fills the Commission Seat One, there is strong agreement among the candidates that the SunRail commuter rail line is not only a success, but also one that offers a real boost to Park Avenue.
...

It's been said that Zora Neale Hurston rescued Eatonville from ruin.Back in the 1980s, Orange County wanted to turn Kennedy Boulevard into a five-lane highway. The town's main drag would have lost its Old Florida feel forever had people there not...

Think you know a lot about the news? Maybe you know nothing about the news.Either way, this column will work out well for you. It's the news of the week, delivered trivia-style.This past week, Orlando made headlines for being ranked as:A) One of the...

A new poll from Quinnipiac University finds that Florida voters are feeling pretty good about the economy and things in general, but still aren't too happy with Gov. Rick Scott, who continues to have higher disapproval than approval ratings.
The poll...

Some oversized campaign contributions could become an issue in the race for Orange County property appraiser in 2016.
According to his January campaign finance report, incumbent Singh collected $2,000 donations from four supporters. The maximum...

Solar bears on the cheap
Like Friday letter-writer Louie Lopez, I, too, had Magic season tickets for years, but the constant increases priced me (and many others) out of renewing. Even in the '90s, we wondered how they could keep increasing prices...

In 39 states where voters choose judges in elections, soaring spending and nasty TV ads threaten to create a widespread perception of judges as politicians in robes. That perception could worsen if the U.S. Supreme Court rules the wrong way this term in a...

As the candidates for Winter Park mayor and City Commission Seat One met to discuss the issues on Friday, one thing that was clear is both races attracted candidates with plenty of experience serving the city or region.
Mayoral candidate Steve Leary...